Will Maranto's World

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - Live Anthology

It may seem like a real no-brainer, but I love the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Live Anthology.  I first heard about the project 3-4 years ago.  While it definitely seemed like a CD I'd be interested in, I didn't give it a whole lot of thought.  Years went by and I didn't hear anything.

When I finally got my hands on this thing (a great Christmas gift from my wife), I was blown away both by the scope of the project and the quality and intensity of the contents.  The liner notes detail the exhaustive effort that was put into compiling and narrowing down thirty years of recorded concerts.  But wow are these performances special!

I've been a huge fan for twenty-five years and I always knew the band was fantastic.  Still, I tended to always think of the band's career in terms of the studio albums (and they are fantastic too).  This collection totally resets my way of thinking about Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, though.  Every track is a a great performance.  What's surprising is that almost every track also has a nearly-magical energy about it.  When these guys are on, they are ON.  

Collections like this can serve as a wake-up call.  The music industry is changing.  The days of selling tons of studio albums and looking at live performances as an afterthought are behind us.  If you're going to make a career out of music, you've got to be able to put on a good live show.  If you're really exceptional you can produce a body of work like the Heartbreakers.  Few will ever be able to contend with the quality and consistency captured on the Live Anthology.

The video below is of an obscure song called "Melinda."  It has never been recorded for a studio album, but it certainly shows off the strengths of the band (and Benmont Tench in particular).

The Dave Stewart Rock Fantastic Orchestra - The Dave Stewart Songbook, Volume 1

Today we're going to examine something of an oddity in CD reviews: Dave Stewart's Rock Fantastic Orchestra performing The Dave Stewart Songbook, Volume One.  I would file this CD under "WTF?" because it's unusual both in its concept and its execution.  So what is this beast you ask?

Well first, let's start with the "who."  Dave Stewart is the guitarist from the band/duo the Eurythmics.  Along with singer Annie Lennox, Dave was responsible for a number of big hits in the 1980's with this band (including the classic "Sweet Dreams").  He also produced and co-wrote songs with Tom Petty, Mick Jagger, Bono and Gwen Stefani to name a few.  Stewart has never been a spotlight hog, but he's always been close to it, usually standing just to the side.  Think of him filling a very "Keith Richards" sort of role.

Then let's move onto the "why."  Realize that I'm extrapolating here, but there's nothing on this album that hasn't been recorded and performed by other artists.  So, you'll know many of these songs, particularly the Eurythmics songs and the Tom Petty song.  My opinion is that Dave wanted to re-record these songs to see what he could do with them without the frontman or woman attached to them to see what he (and his talented co-conspirators) could bring to the material.  If I thought Stewart was hurting for money, I would assume this album of already-released songs was nothing than a non-artistic cash grab.  But I don't think that's it. 

I think Stewart is motivated most by his own gut and what feels intriguing at the moment.  If you look at his career and his multitude of different partnerships, I think this pattern is pretty clear.  I was talking about this record to my good friend (and Profile in Hatred winner) Bryan Copeland.  Bryan sees Dave as a primadonna type who's excellent to work with as long as he's getting his way.  Perhaps a musical fair weather friend of sorts.  I don't think we have enough information about Stewart's working relationships to say that, but I do think he has managed to produce great songs with numerous top-tier artists.

As always, albums come down to the quality of songs and performances on them.  This album certainly contains a wealth of great songs.  The above-mentioned songs are all world class in their quality.  There are lesser-known gems here too.  Standouts include the mid-tempo "Old Habits Die Hard" and "Ordinary Miracle."  These songs could stand alongside anyone's best compositions.  They're simply great.  There are weird songs and overly-experimental outings here too.  "Underneath It All" could have simply stayed a No Doubt song.  The band here plays very, very well, though.  There are no lacking performances on this album. 

In conclusion, I don't think this album is for everyone.  I have to say even as a fan of Stewart's solo work I was very pleasantly surprised by the songs I had not heard before.  The fact that many of these songs are better known in their original forms works against the record though.  Since Stewart is a great producer, almost all the original recordings of these songs were nearly perfect.  For those, I didn't feel this album improved on them.  I still highly recommend this album, especially for those not familiar with Stewart's work.

Will Reviews "It's A Shame About Ray"

So today we turn to a record that was recorded sixteen years ago.  I don't plan to use this blog as a place to only talk about albums that I like, but I thought It's A Shame About Ray deserved some examination.

For those of you who are completely unfamiliar with this album, it's by the band The Lemonheads, a group formed in the mid 1980's by frontman and principal singer/songwriter Evan Dando.  The Lemonheads had recorded four albums prior to the emergence of Ray, starting as a punk-rock band and gradually drifting toward a slightly more melodic sound.  This drift in their sound would be completed by the time Ray was recorded.  This transformation was probably multifactoral, but Dando's trip to Australia and writing with singer/songwriter Tom Morgan (of the band Smudge) was probably the largest of factors.  Connections to the alt.country movement have also been made with Dando's sound and they're valid.  Certainly, he's made his appreciation of Gram Parsons well known and the power-pop sounds of Big Star can be heard on this CD.

Listening to the CD, what immediately leaps to mind is how much energy the band cranks into these songs.  Enthusiasm abounds, turning simple songs like "Rockin' Stroll" and "Rudderless" into infectious recordings.  The cover of the Simon and Garfunkel classic, "Mrs. Robinson," certainly benefits from this focused energy too.  Dando never seems to miss a beat here, always having a clever line or a guitar riff that's just right.  It's A Shame About Ray stays one step ahead of where you think it will be.

It doesn't hurt that the songs are performed with great economy, either.  Clocking in at under thirty minutes, this just may be the most concentrated batch of songs you'll ever hear.  The closest you might get to this otherwise, would be mid-60's Beatles (see Help! or Rubber Soul).  Neither band used extended solos or jamming and the end results are albums you want to listen to again and again.  And the lyrical focuses of these songs are wide and varied: punk-rock girls, dysfunctional families, strolling infants and deceased protagonists loom large here.

As with most albums, though, the singer here is king.  Dando's sleepy baritone is kept front and center.  As smart as the songwriting is and as crisp as the performances are, none of this would work half as well without the warm and inviting vocals.  A secret weapon of this album, beyond the lead vocals, are the harmony vocals provided by bass guitarist Juliana Hatfield.  The lift that these vocals provide to songs like "My Drug Buddy" and "Bit Part" are priceless.

As an aside, the arrangement and production of the guitars here bears mentioning.  On numerous tracks both overdriven electric guitars and acoustic guitars are overlayed playing rhythm parts, usually with the acoustic being slightly more prominent.  This achieves two goals: it gives a smooth and full sound (again, more warmth) but it also gives the songs a rocking edge.  This is the way to successfully achieve power pop.

In summation, I strongly recommend this album.  You will not be let down.